... and there are walls now...

Paid another visit to site today, to see how work was going on the flat. As you can see, care of Mr Snap-Happy, the inside walls are going up pronto. Chloe is getting rather excited now, as am I.

I really can't wait. No news yet though on exchange of contracts.... surely it must be soon.

Writing for the play on hold whilst Helen is on holiday. Means that I have time to do some work on the Stephen Brown story I am next up to write. It's hard to get motivated about it, when previous enthusiasm turns to such disappointment. The story in question isn't due to be shown to the rest of the group until late 2011, if not later.

Kelly came round tonight, the last time I'm going to be seeing her before she goes off to Australia for 6 months. Hard to think that the next possible time I will see her, such a fantastically wonderful opportunity for her though. Amazingly scary though. But I guess that's the whole point. Do one thing every day that scares you, right  ?

I often wonder about going off abroad somewhere, but also wonder if I would shyly remain in my hotel room the whole time, cursing the lack of internet.  There are so many places to see 'at home' that I don't know that there's a need to go overseas. Then again, the fact that you do it in the absence of need is rather the whole damn point.

Cracking on reading 'New Moon', the second book in the Twilight saga. Finding them very, very, very good page turners... so it would follow, that without further ado, I bugger off to bed and read for a bit before turning to sleep to pass the few hours until I have to get up again and head off for work.

Wooooo September..

It was the 5th of September, a day I'll always remember.....cos that was the day...

After last weekend's disaster on the transport front, (I ended up having to buy my train ticket twice, having left the original at home), I opted for the much more sensible ticket of the rover variety on the bus. This did mean that I saved myself a hell of a lot of money, as I didn't need to get ticket down, ticket back, ticket down, ticket back (effectively 2 returns) as I would on the train. Yipee.

Anyway, entirely without my permission, it turned into September mid week. I've had some early starts this week, so three times, after work, I've come straight home and gone over the park for a read.... (as I said last time). I'd started reading the first in the Twilight Saga and I have to say.. I can't put the book down. This is good thing in a book, well to me it is. Thankfully I live alone, so my immersion doesn't annoy anyone trying to communicate with me. I have, in such a space of time got to page 380.

Worry not, I'm not going to exhaustively blog my progress with the book(s).
My week has seen otherwise empty after the initial excitement of completing the first scene of The Fatcat & The Grafter, with Helen.

My presence was requested at four different events, Friday and Saturday nights. Such demand is by no means the norm for me, but coming as they did at a point when all I wanted to do was go home and spend some more time with Bella and Edward, they actually all got ignored.

A 70/80s party with Beacon, which I reasoned myself out of with the argument that the cost of getting there, buying some alcohol and then wasting half of Saturday to sleep and recovery, as well as the expense of coming back from the ever distant Locks Heath.

One of the managers at work was leaving Friday, she is making a change from a career in a call centre, to being a police officer. I was very torn, she is a much loved and appreciated person, but again, the adding up of the inevitable cost of a journey into town and back, bookending as they would the purchasing of drinks. One or two, never, it seems being enough.

Saturday, was a choice between another leaving do, for Kelly, my exflatmate. Who is bravely disappearing off to Australia for a year, and the house warming party for another colleague.

I don't want to create the impression that everyone at my workplace is a pisshead... but having looked at the facts.. I'd have to agree that there is a worrying culture of alcoholic consumption there.

I don't know why, but I'm just not that into alcohol at the moment. Tea seems to be the only thing I really require. These things go in phases I know, well they do with me.

It all adds up to me trying to save money, as well as look after my body a bit better. Why am I saving money ?...

There is progress from last week... ? Right ?

Well, of course, that would be the all consuming fear that I won't have enough money come completion time for the flat.

There is an article in news recently about how millions of people have been charged incorrectly for their tax. Some will end up owing the government up to £1500, others may actually be due a rebate of £400. What's the betting I'd be in the first category rather than the second. An additional £400 could come in really handy about now, or in about three months time. Could go towards something nice for the flat, or indeed towards the stamp duty. Dammit. (give with one hand, take with the other).

I took Chloe up to see the work in progress that will be my new home today. I had a little collie wobble about the idea of changing the colour of the kitchen cabinets. In the end, I've decided to stick with my original choice. I wish I could afford to have the brushed metal sockets and switches, but alas, this is not to be. I can always get them done at a later date, and for considerably less than the £20 a pop that the developer wants to charge for them.

I'm trying to figure out how I can be really tight by not putting the heating on in my current flat this winter, so that I have such a credit on my energy accounts that I will... well, have some money when I move.

Excitement is building

Seemingly a rather hectic, and pivotal day. I had a meeting today to chose the tiles, worktops, cupboards and flooring for my new flat.

The developers (Taylor Wimpey) gave me a voucher to entitle me to £3230 worth of decorations choices.

The flat. Still under construction.

I had been worried that the amount I had to spend, with the voucher would leave me having to settle for staid and boring choices.

This has most definitely not been the case. I've made some quite bold choices, figuring that if I'm going to have the opportunity to create a statement, without having to do all the work, I may as well make the most of the situation.

I did have to be careful not to get carried away. It made sense to start with figuring out how much the flooring was going to cost, as that was going to be taking the most out of the budget available. Once I'd worked out that tiling throughout was not possible everything else was just a process of elimination or pointing 'I want that one' when looking at a set of samples in the sales office.

As you can see from the pictures, things are coming along nicely, and the visible progress in the construction of the flat itself, and the meeting today serves to

excite me further.

When I decided to proceed with the purchase back in June, the expected completion date of December seemed so far away. Now that is much, much closer.

My parents, who are also purchasing a property on the development, are due to move into their new home at the end of October. Next month ! Next month !

I'm still amazed frankly by the idea that without realising it was at all possible, I am going to be ending this year in my own flat, which is certainly a development (no pun intended) that was not anticipated at the start of the year.

Just need to make sure I can afford it now, don't I.

In other news, Helen and I are doing well with the new play... but more of that later..